Black Hearted Spades
by lady-warrioress
Summary: AU What if his plot to kill the queen failed?
1. Chapter 1

The dungeon was dark and cold, no light entered through the barred windows as they faced away from the bright sphere that lit up the planet.

The pitiful black figure lay prone on the cold purple stone floor, semi conscious and covered in bruises. It would be awhile before he came fully around and he honestly didn't want to rush it. He knew the moment he came fully to reality the pain would start and with the pain the fragmented memories of why he was in there in the first place.

Why was the biggest question. What had gone wrong and how had it degenerated so quickly? He'd thought everything was going perfectly as he'd planned but something had pulled an irony on him and everything had gone down the drain in less than two hours.

Right now the events of those two hours were beyond his reach and for the better. They would not have made him want to wake up any faster. But eventually he real world burst into the fog of his brain and he could no longer stay out even though he tried his best to hang onto the darkness of unconsciousness. The very first thing he became aware of was pain. Pain everywhere. In his head, arms, legs, chest, even places that couldn't be named.

Moaning his yes fluttered open and focused on a blurry dark purple blur of a world that seemed to be shaking as if it were being hit by an earthquake. This only proved to make him feel worse and he managed to sit up part way only to vomit all over the floor. This was followed by a horrible obscenity directed at someone not even in the room, but most likely in his mind.

He repeated the curse, his mind now zeroing in on a name and a face.

That woman! That blasted heifer! How had she found out and who had told her?! There weren't very many suspects so the list was short and only made him angry.

"Oh..." he groaned as his building anger brought a new flash of pain through his head. He lay back down, only then noticing the shackle on his ankle which was connected to a chain that was coming out of the wall.

Cursing again he rolled onto his back and pulled his leg toward his chin, testing the security of the chain. It help firmly to the wall. Great, she wasn't taking any chances. Figured. He should have known she wouldn't risk it she wasn't stupid after all.

With that in mind he looked around the cell, noticing no light shone in through the windows as was usual for the dungeons location. this mean the window was false or faced far from any source of light. Or most of it because what little light that did enter the room was pale and was only enough to enable him to discern shapes from their slightly less darker backgrounds.

How fitting.

So she was going to shackle him and leave him to go blind in the darkest corners of the dungeon.

He groaned again, this time more from annoyance than form the pain in his body. He should have know this would happen. He should have been more careful! He should have kept his plans only to himself, he should have...

There wasn't anything else he could have done. Only a few people had known about this plan and those who had worked under him and he trusted as much as someone like him could trust anyone. So then how had this happened and who was responsible?

Before he could give it much more thought he picked up the sound of footsteps walking down the hall outside his turned his head toward the dark shaped he hoped was the door and listened. The sounds seemed to be coming toward him which meant one of two things, one of his underlings was coming to see him or she was about to pay him an unwelcome visit.

A moment later the footsteps stopped in front of his cell door and he could hear a key being inserted into the lock. The door opened after a brief period of time and a bright light shone in his eyes, forcing him to growl and turn his face away from it.

"Jack Noir."

He grimaced and put up a hand to block the light as he squinted at the figure holding it. He knew that voice and it only made him angry. "I knew you couldn't resist coming down here to rub it in."

The light moved away from the speaker's face, revealing the smirking features of Derse's Queen. "You should watch your mouth, Noir," she told him. 'That's no way to speak to your queen."

"You're no queen of mine," he grumbled.

"What was that?" the female dersite demanded.

Jack held his tongue. Speaking wouldn't help his case. If he wanted to get out of this the easy way he would have keep all the things he wanted to say to her inside him. "I said you got no reason to throw me down here."

"Oh, I've got plenty of reason, Noir," she responded. "As you well know."

"No, I'm afraid I don't," he responded in as innocent a tone as he could muster.

"Now don't play dumb with me, Noir," she snapped, stepping toward him. "I know you were the one responsible, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Jack began to argue but stopped, knowing it wouldn't do him any good. Once she got an idea in her head she didn't change her mind about it, wrong or right. Too bad for him she was right but he wasn't willing to admit it to her, knowing the consequences.

"You don't have proof," he responded.

"Don't I?" she challenged. The Queen reached out her hand and grabbed his chin, forcing his head up toward hers so they could lock eyes. 'you'd be surprised what I have against you, Jack. Just because you hid it well doesn't mean I wouldn't find it eventually, thought your little mocking doodles helped." she held up the recent one, a caricature of herself with large swinging breasts and a dopey face. "You seem extremely fascinated with my endowments since your art puts more effort into them than any other part of my body." she tossed it and it fluttered to the floor in front of him.

Jack clenched his teeth, choosing not to let his eyes wander to the drawing on the floor as he hissed out. "That proves nothing."

She laughed, yanking him loser to her. "I told you I have more proof than that,' she reminded him. "Much more and I'll find even more in due time. of course you can tell me everything you have planned now and save yourself an even more severe punishment."

"I have nothing to say." he growled at her.

She puled him closer so now their faces nearly touched. he could feel the chain attached to his ankle go taught as all the slack went out of it. "Are you sure about that?" she asked in a cold dark voice. "Because if I do find more information on your little mutiny plot you will wish you had told me."

Jack didn't reply, merely choosing to glare a challenge into her eyes, one he knew very well she'd take up. No sense giving it to her in words. The queen seemed to read him mind and let him go, shoving him backward so he fell onto the stone floor with a thud also splitting the carapace on his palms in an attempt to break his fall.

"very well then, Jack," she said coldly. "I will just continue my investigation and should I find more evidence against you you will be the first to know." now she grinned, her lips peeling back to reveal sharp, white canine teeth. "and your punishment will be extremely satisfying."

"I'm sure you will," he sneered. "That is if you can find anything."

'Oh I will," she responded, turning from him with an air if superiority. "You can bet one that." and then she left, closing the door and leaving him once again the the darkness.

Now he was completely in the dark, or would be until his eyes readjusted. Meanwhile he sat still, feeling the new pain in his palms and berating himself for being so foolish. Pretending to be innocent only proved to make him look guilty. She could see right through him as always and he knew she knew he was lying.

A sense of urgency filled him. He had to do something! But he couldn't! He was trapped in the dungeon, probably left to rot, and had no way of communicating with his underlings.

Hopefully, and that was al he could do, one of them was smart enough to figure out where he'd been taken and try to communicate with him. Or at last figure out what had happened and destroy all the evidence before the queen discovered it.

The dignitary! Surely he'd figure out what happened and make sure the evidence was destroyed! he wouldn't betray jack, he was too loyal.

Right?

For some reason a little seed of doubt began to flower in his mind and he wasn't all that sure the dignitary would hide the evidence. He might just feel he would have better luck giving it to the queen over hiding it. After all, the person who would be punished for it wouldn't be him, but jack noir and only jack noir.

The dignitary just might tell her.

"No!" he snapped, slamming his fist into the floor. 'Don't you dare!"

The only response he received was his voice echoed back at him. The dignitary couldn't hear him from there and probably wouldn't care all that much if he had.

Cursing, jack turned his attention to the chain, feeling around in the darkness until his hands rested on the cold metal. He gave it a tug, his arms jarring painfully as he did so. What did he expect anyway? The chain to suddenly loosen because the queen had practically pulled it out of the wall when she'd yanked him around?

Jack swore and punched the chain.

_Stupid Queen!_

Suddenly a jolt shot through Jack from the manacle around his ankle and he yelled in pain and surprise. The jolt lasted long enough to nearly knock him out then stopped. He groaned, falling onto his back as the pain slowly subsided.

She'd electrified the chain as well?!

Why was that surprising him? It was something she'd do just to get back at him. it wasn't anything original. Grunting, he rolled onto his stomach, clenching his fists and resting his head on the stone floor. He couldn't even get the chain off without hurting himself. What was he going to do?

Gnawing off his foot was still an opinion... wait, no it wasn't! He needed his legs and had no intention of walking around with a stumpy limb the rest of his life just to get free.

So he had no real way to freeing himself and getting out of there and no way of communicating. Since he was stuck he figured he'd familiarize himself with his cell. Maybe he'd be able to figure out how to get out of there in the process, or at least figure out where exactly he was being held.

So he got up off the floor, though his head started pounding when he did so and moving was a chore because his limbs were so sore from him being shocked, and stumbled toward the window. The chain tinkled as he moved but there was enough slack in it to enable him to reach the window comfortably. He leaned his head on the window sill briefly, waiting for the pounding in his head to subside before he raised his head and looked around.

His first guess was right. The window was facing away from the lights of skaia and into the darkness of space. Also there was something over the windows of his cell which also kept the light out and the darkness in. Whether this was done intentionally or was simply part of the architecture he didn't know or care to know. It did it's job either way, leaving him basically blind and confused of his whereabouts.

Exactly how the queen wanted it.

So now what? He asked himself, clenching his fists in frustration. You are stuck in a purposely darkened cell, beaten to a bloody pulp, and chained to a wall. Are you going to do the only logical thing and give up or will you cause more trouble for yourself and try to get out of this mess?

Well I'm not going to just sit around this place and do nothing, he concluded not really giving it any thought at all. I'm getting outta this stinkin' hell hole and no big headed queen is going to stop me!

Which still left the question:

How in the world was he going to get out of the cell?!

000000

Sometime during the day Jack had fallen asleep, sitting up with his back to the window. In the darkn and cold he really had nothing else to do besides that. In his dreams he defeated the Black Queen and took her power then went out and killed everyone who stood in his way. Unfortunately he was woken out of a this wonderful dream by a slap to his face that nearly knocked him clear across the room.

Startled he put out his hands to break his fall and opened his eyes only to be nearly blinded by an exceedingly bright light shining right into his face just like earlier.

"Wha-?!" his exclamation was cut off when the person holding the lamp hit him again, this one managing to knock him sideways onto the cold, cement floor.

Rage, instead of pain, blossomed in his head. Cursing, he quickly righted himself and took a swing as his abuser, only to have his arm grabbed and yanked painfully above his head. Now the light pulled back and he saw that the queen had returned and was staring down at him with open contempt.

"You!" he gasped, startled and angry all at once. This only brought on yet another hard slap to his face, though he didn't fall over because she held his arm. All he gained from it was a sore face and a painful ringing in his right ear.

"Yes, me," she frowned at him, angry and annoyed, gripping his arm in a vice hold. "and you probably already know why I'm down here."

"Aside from satisfying your need to humiliate me?" he snapped, squirming in her grip. He wanted her to let him go so he could get away from her.

She smirked, slamming his back against the stone wall, hard enough to make him grunt. "No, that is just an added bonus," she responded. "I'm down here because I found that evidence I told you about. Your underlings were extremely happy to give it to me."

"What!?" So they had betrayed him after all!

"Don't be so surprised, Jack," she spoke, noticing his expression. "You should have known they'd sing like birds given the right incentive, and they don't have much loyalty to you either, how sad."

Jack chose not to dignify that with a response. What was the point in it? It would be best just to stay silent, which would tell her just as much as words would.

"You did know," she concluded after a moment.

"So what if I did?" he growled, squirming in her grip. "Does it really matter now? It happened, I was betrayed, what else do you want from me? Surprise?"

"No."

"Then why did you ask?!"

"It doesn't matter, Jack," she responded. "they have given me the proof I need and it's time for you to suffer the consequences of your traitorous actions."

She then produced a key from it seemed out of nowhere and unlocked the shackle around his ankle before she drug him forcefully out of his cell.

Even as she did so he fought back, digging his sharp finger tips into her arm in an attempt to force her to let him go as he dug his heels into the floor in an attempt to prevent her from taking him anywhere. The queen, having none of this, gave a mighty yank and pulled him off his feet, literally dragging him out of the cell and down the barely lit hallway. Even though he really was screwed anyway, he still attempted to prevent his inevitable fate by grabbing out at anything and everything along the way.

"Stop that and take it like a man!" she scolded him, as if she were talking to a 5 year old.

He shouted an obscenity at her.

The queen ignored him, choosing instead to continue on her course, dragging him out of the dungeon and down a flight of stairs. He grunted as his carapace sharply impacted the stones. The queen ignored this of course and kept on going, hauling him down even more stairs, through some rooms and more hallways before finally reaching the torture chamber at the bottom of the tower.

When they arrived she threw him to the floor before her. He landed hard, further tearing the carapace of his palms before he managed to haul himself up in an attempt to make a break for it. Unfortunately, before he could, though, the queen struck out at him with her foot, knocking her former arch agent back onto the floor.

"You're not gong anywhere, Noir," she told him icily. "I told you if I found more information you'd wish I killed you and I'm not backing out on my word."

He hissed at her, trying to get up again only to be knocked over once more.

This time when he tried to get up she grabbed a chain off a table and looped it around his neck, pulling him backward toward her. He gagged and kicked, in a vain attempt to get free.

She pulled hard, jerking him right off the floor. He flew back and his back crashed against the wall with a sickening splintering sound. He grunted in pain before sliding down the wall to the floor. The queen yanked on the chain again, dragging him by the neck over to her and forcing him roughly to his feet.

Jack cursed, putting out his hands to separate them, succeeding in grabbing the front of her dress and pulling it down. She hissed, slapping him across the face for daring to expose her like that.

"Get your hands off me!" she hissed.

He spit out another insult at her, grabbing for her dress again just to spite her. She slapped his hand away and kicked him onto his back. When he attempted to right himself once more, she stomped her foot down onto his stomach and pinned him there, yanking hard on the chain. It tightened around his neck and he choked and gagged, struggling vainly to free himself.

"Yield," she ordered him, yanking hard on the chain. "Or I'll beak your neck like a toothpick!"

Jack Noir, knowing he had no choice and realizing she wouldn't bluff with him, relented, growing limp in defeat. Once he did she smirked and loosened her hold on the chain, giving it some slack so he could breathe. Instantly he curled up, grabbing his neck and gasping for air.

The queen didn't give him very long a rest though because the next moment she yanked on the chain and threw him bodily onto one of the torture tables.

Then, before he could recover, she'd chained his wrists and yanked them over his head, securing them on a hook set up at the end of the table. As she tried to do the same to his ankles he came to life, kicking her hard in the face while screaming obscenities. He wans't going to let her tie him down so easily.

The queen stepped back, glaring into his cold, white eyes. Noir growled at her as he squirmed against the chains holding him down. "You won't get away with this! You will pay!" he screamed at her. "You're going to wish you'd never laid eyes on me."

She sneered at him, watching his futile efforts to get free. "You'll never be able to carry out your threat once I'm through. Keep it up, Jack. It only helps me come up with more reasons to punish you."

"You don't need reasons to do that!" he snapped yanking on his manacled wrists. "You'd do it even without a reason, admit it!"

"What does it matter to you?" she picked up a whip, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "You don't even know me as much as you think, Noir. I was perfectly content letting you continue working the job I gave you but you weren't satisfied. You hated your boring job and all the tasks I gave you. All you wanted was more." she flicked the whip at him, noticing him flinch. "You're never happy, no matter what you get. I could make you the heir to the throne and it wouldn't make you happy."

Could she blame him with all the garbage she put him through? She was the whole reason he was the way he was even if she outright denied it, he knew it was true and he knew she knew it as well.

The whip cracking against his face jerked him out of his thoughts. He cried out, rolling sideways, away from it. With only his arms chained he could squirm around the table and avoid being hit as much.

"Hold still!" she shouted. "Take your punishment like a man!"

"Go die!" he yelled angrily.

The queen threw the whip away, storming over to him. She was getting tired of him moving around and ruining her fun. Well she wasn't going to stand for it anymore. Jack kicked at her when she was close but she didn't seem phased. She reached out and grabbed the first ankle that got close to her, slamming it down hard on the table.

"Be still!"

"Screw you!"

She slammed her fist into his ankle breaking it with a snap. He screamed in agony as she chained it up then grabbed the other one to do the same. Once she finished with that she shot him a satisfied look. Now he couldn't prevent her from giving him what he deserved.

"There," she stepped back, smirking. "Now I can continue without you causing me any more trouble."

"You heartless witch!" he shrieked. "I'll kill you!"

Her eyes went cold. "It won't happen, Jack," she said, taking something out of her dress. A knife. His knife! "and you have no one who will help you do it." Suddenly she stabbed his palm with the knife, making him yell out in agony. "Give up on your murderous fantasies, they won't be made reality," she leaned close, their faces only touching. "You might as well be content with jacking off to them at night."

"You sick bitch!" How dare she imply such a thing! "I would no anything like that if it involved you."

"Of course." she stepped away, pulling out the knife and sending blood spattering all over him. "It would be too moral for one such as you." she leaned over to pick up that whip again. "Aren't I right?"

Jack's responce was a deep throated growl laced with threats of all kinds of torture.

The Black Queen began to laugh, slashing him across the face. Enough of this! His threats were empty and the only spurred her on, the louder he screamed the harder she hit him. As she did time seemed to stand still and she wasn't aware of it until Jack fell silent, falling unconscious, unable to take the pain any longer.

Then she stood there, panting, her eyes on his bloody, prone figure, that whip hanging limp in her hand. She screamed, hitting him once more before she dropped it onto the floor. "Idiot!" she shouted. "Stupid pathetic little fool! Why do you always have to force my hand!?"

Jack, being unconscious, couldn't answer her and he probably wouldn't have if he'd been awake anyway. The queen rested her hand on the table and tried to catch her breath. It had given her no satisfaction in any of the actions she'd performed just then which made her even more angry. Why couldn't it satisfy her? Why did it assault her with guilt? Jack Noir been plotting to kill her! He hated her and wanted nothing more than to cut out her heart while she was still alive to see it happem. So why was she so upset about all of this?

She screamed and punched him in the face. "I hate you!"

"Guard!" she shouted turning around to the door.

A large carapace stepped into the room. "Yes, your highness?"

'Take Mr. Noir back to his cell,' she ordered. "I'm tired of looking at him."

_I am not sure if I'll continue this or not._


	2. Chapter 2

2

Jack Noir didn't regain consciousness for a long time after he'd been taken back to his cell, his body taking an extended period of time to recover from the beating he'd received. He lay on the floor of the cell in the same position he'd been dropped in hours ago when the prison guard had taken him back to it. The wounds covering his body had stopped bleeding and dried blood stained his now torn and tattered garments.

When he finally did come to it was with a angry cry of pain as he sat up straight and stared down at his ruined hand in agony. This quick movement caused his palm to start bleeding again, the blood oozing over his carapace in wicked red tendrils. He cursed and ripped off a piece of his jacket to tie around the wound in an attempt to add pressure and make it stop.

"Blasted queen," he cursed, using his teeth to hold one end of the cloth as he tied the other end with his left hand. "Who does she think she's dealing with?! I'll make her pay dearly for that once I get the chance!"

_If_ he got the chance.

Jack placed his hand on the floor once it was tied and tried to get up, only to be punished by both his ankles screaming at him in protest. That's when he remembered the queen had broken them, making them just as useless as his right hand. That blasted woman was taking no chances.

_Bet she had a whole pack of fun while she was doing it too_, he thought bitterly. "How do you feel now, you're highness?" he grumbled, wincing as he sat back on the floor. "Did you satisfy yourself with that? You finished with your royal temper tantrum?"

Probably not. He wouldn't put it past her that she'd come back within a few hours to do it again.

"Yeah, she will," he muttered, looking at his ankles which were now swollen. He reached out to touch them but thought better of it. "and this is probably the beginning for me..."

Probably, but he wasn't going to take it lying down. It was bad enough he'd been so helpless and stupid before. He couldn't let her repeat that, no way.

So how was he going to stop her? That was the question of the century. He'd been taken by surprise before, next time he would have to be ready. Maybe then he could turn the tables to his advantage.

Figuring out how would be a harder thing. The Queen was smart and sneaky. She might just have something planned for if he tried anything. After all she did outsmart him in his plot to have her removed.

How she found out still remained a mystery. Had one of the game players outed him? If so, why? What did they intend to gain by betraying him to the Black Queen like that? Then again; he didn't know all that much about the game anyway, or even if those stupid kids were even telling the truth about them all being a part of it. Somehow that only made him even more irritated.

Was he merely a pawn? Did he only exist for the purpose of being killed? No! That wasn't how this game was going to end! Not for those kids and not for the Queen either! He was his own person and master of his own fate. No stupid rules of the universe were going to dictate his future for him.

So then what was he going to do about it?

He couldn't begin to come up with an answer.

Jack Noir heard footsteps coming to the cell again. Oh no, the old harpy was coming back to finish the job.

_Not this time. _

Getting on his hands and knees, he began the process of crawling as far into the darkness as the pain would allow him. The queen must have figured broken ankles would prevent him from getting too far and hadn't had the chain reattached to his ankle, which gave him a freer reign of the cell.

Now if only he could actually _find_ a place to hide before she opened that door...

Jack heard the footsteps outside in the hall stop just outside the door. Yeah, she was coming for him all right, but she wasn't going to find him-

His head bumped into an old cot and he sat back, rubbing his now sore cranium with his good hand. Where had that come from?! He didn't have long to think about it because he heard the door opening behind him. Thn\inking fast he quickly drawled under the cot and scooted as far back against the wall as he could. This caused his many wounds to protest but he managed to grit his teeth and bear the pain.

No way was he going to give himself away.

A beam of light shone across the floor on the cell as the door opened and he could see a pair of legs step into the dungeon. The light moved this way and that as if the bearer was looking for him. When the light got closer he pressed himself up against the back wall, hoping it wouldn't catch his movements.

"You might as well come out of hiding," the queens voice spoke up. "I know you're in here. There's no way out of this cell except through the door and not even you're skilled enough to pick that lock."

Yeah right, he thought. Like he was going to come out and let her beat the tar out of him again. No way in the crypt of derses moon was he going to do that. What did she take him for?

"Come and find me, you stupid witch," he whispered.

Come she did, crossing the room as if hearing his voice and giving the cot a good hard kick that sent it flopping against the wall, just enough to expose his hiding place.

'There you are, Noir." she said, her voice an angry hiss. "Get your shell encased butt out of here before I come in after you."

"I dare you." he challenged, realizing the jig was up anyway.

The cot was kicked again, this time knocked upward and away from him. it flew over the queen's head and landed with a loud bang on the other side of the room. "Anymore stupid orders you want to give?" she asked ironically.

Oh blast.

Jack could even try escaping due to his injuries and wound up grabbed by the front of his coat and yanked roughly off the floor. He hung like a ragdoll from her grip, glaring defiantly into her face.

"Come back to finish the job, you're highness?" he taunted. She let him go, allowing him to crash back onto the hard floor. "What's the matter? To cowardly to finish the job?"

"Don't be so vain, Noir," she replied. "I'm not as stupid as you think. I don't see the point of killing you when allowing you to live is much more satisfying. Why be merciful and end your suffering with a quick death? That won't do, I think a slow and painful death is much more exhilarating."

"Who says that'll happen?" he sneered.

"You have no way of stopping it," she replied, kicking him in the stomach. "So don't give me any of that false bravado. It's not going to work and only makes you look even more foolish."

Jack fell back with a grunt, recovering after a moment to demand, "Does it make you feel better hitting someone who can't fight back, witch?"

"If it's you, yes," she smirked, leaning down and looking him square in the face. "Seeing as you planned on taking me out when I was down and helpless, plotting to steal my ring and using it again me." her smirk became a wicked smile. "Poor Jack, you'll never be able to do what you planned for you see I have hidden my ring where you'll never find it." she caught a flicker of blind rage cross his features. "Yes, those children aren't merely useful to you, Noir. I can manipulate them for my own purposes as well."

The children!

"You aren't playing by the rules of the game, your highness," he sneered. "You're not supposed to interfere."

"I can say the same to you." she poked his face with a sharp, long fingernail. "But rules are made to be broken and this game as you and those whelps call it isn't going to end the way either of you want it. That ends here. It's game over, for them.. and for you."

Great, just perfect. This dumb broad was two steps ahead of him in everything! Not even the kids could be trusted, just like he thought. They'd been using him all along, not even they understood his vision and schemes! Little ungrateful brats!

"Something wrong, Noir?" she taunted.

"Why don't you just stop playing around and kill me already?" he demanded. "It would make your part in their pathetic game more useful than just a simple little side quest. They don't care about your or me. They want us both dead so they can win this for some stupid reason."

"Who says I'm playing by their rules?' she asked. "besides, I have no desire to kill you just yet. Aside from punishing you I can still put you to some good use."

"Like how?" he growled. "Your footstool."

She just grinned and stood. "That's not for you to know right now, Jack," she responded. 'But you'll find out in due time." she turned to away. "You just don't worry about it. It will happen in due time."

Then he was once again alone in the dark as the queen left the cell without further word or action against him. He blinked, slightly confused, had he really just avoided a session down in the castle torture chambers that easily? That was just too strange to believe.

She'll be back, he told himself and when she did she'd probably give him twice as much pain because she forgot to that time. He could try to get her mind off it but it probably wouldn't work a second time and he hadn't done it intentionally the first time. No, there wasn't any way to repeat the process.

"So then what?" he asked himself. "Sit here and take it? I've been doing that for years and I'm sick of it. It's time to change the way this game is played. Time to start going by my own rules."

000

The queen stormed out of the dungeon, her mind a roiling mess of thoughts. Her chat with jack hadn't helped with her previous feelings and she was far too irritated and upset to think about it too much.

Why didn't you beat him up? a voice in the back of his head demanded. That's why you came down there. He was pushing all your buttons the right way but you just couldn't. What is the matter with you?

"I don't know,' she muttered, walking back to the throne room. "and right can I don't care. He's not going anywhere so I can make up for it later." she entered the throne room and walked over to the seat, sitting down and resting her chin in her hand.

Suddenly she felt lonely and depressed and she felt herself wishing her husband was home instead of on the battlefield so he could give her some much needed attention. Much as she loved him and knew what he was doing was for the best she also loathed him for choosing war over her touch. Did the thrill of battle give him more pleasure than her company? Why did he have to leave her in the kingdom with nothing but an annoying little smart mouth to converse with?

Jack Noir.

The Queen always took her frustration out on him. He was rather fun to annoy and she got a huge kick out of making him miserable. Why should he be happy when she wasn't anyway? At least he was able to go off and do other things when his work was done, unlike her. She was stuck in this god forsaken castle seven days a week twenty four seven!

Her white eyes glinted with a sick satisfaction. Not anymore. He was just as much a prisoner to the palace as she was now and she intended to keep it that way as long as possible.

A knock on the throne room door brought her quickly out of her thoughts.

'Enter!" she ordered, turning her head toward the sound.

The door opened and the Draconian Dignitary entered the room. The queen stared at him briefly and sat back. What did he want now? She hoped he wasn't there to convince her to release Jack. It hadn't worked the first time he'd requested it and it wouldn't work now either. Much as she appreciated him telling her what Noir had been planning she didn't owe him anything for it and he knew as well as she did his testimony would only make the arch agent more guilty of treason.

"Yes?" she asked.

The tall Dersite stepped into the room without a word and closed the door behind himself. He didn't meet her eyes out of decorum but she could tell even without eye contact something wad bothering him and it wasn't the need to smoke either. She knew what it was but didn't intent to say it to him.

He'd come to her so let him start the conversation.

After a moment he did. "Your highness, I wish to speak with you about Jack-"

'I'm not releasing him," she cut him off before he could go further.

"That wasn't what I wanted to request," he responded passively. "I believe your choice is the right one, my queen."

The queen blinked, startled by his admission. She had not expected such a praise from the one who claimed to be Noir's closest confidant. "Explain yourself."

_A/N_

_Yes they are aware of the game but I left who the children players were. They could be the human kids or the trolls. That's up to you to decide.  
My problem now is how this story is going to end up. I got a few ideas but the plot is a loose thread I'm trying to tie up_

_**Please comment**_


	3. Chapter 3

The wound on Jack's hand had begun to bleed again, as his little scuffle with the black queen had loosened the bandage. Cursing to himself, he quickly tightened it and made a fist, wincing as the action caused his whole hand to throb.

There, much better.

Now to focus on the bigger problem. Making sure the next time the queen came for a visit she wouldn't be the one with the upper hand.

Crawling across the floor, he made his way over to the now ruined cot. Once he reached it, he pulled himself up onto the mattress and sat there briefly as he racked his brain for an answer to his problem. It couldn't be this hard to figure it out.

Nothing was coming to him.

"Darn it!" he swore, grabbing his head in frustration. This was much harder than he thought.

Then he noticed the broken part of the bed, a metal rod, laying on the floor. Picking it up, he studied it a moment then gave it some experimental swings. Hmmm. Not bad.

A smile slowly grew across his face. He could use this to cause a lot of damage, like crushing the skull of a certain, loud mouthed female.

"Yeah," he grinned. "Not a bad idea at all."

Of course he'd have to wait awhile before he could test it out on her. In the meantime he could do some planning...

... after he got some rest.

Falling back onto the mattress, he stared into the darkness, the pain from his wounds coming back into his consciousness now that he didn't have his anger to distract him so much. His hand and legs throbbed but the pain didn't feel uncomfortable, it seemed welcoming actually.

Closing his eyes, he sighed. He could use that pain to his advantage.

000000

The queen listened to the Dignitary as he explained himself to her. His reasons seemed well thought out as well as logical. After all keeping him out of her shell and away from the game players was a good idea. Without them to manipulate, their chances at winner were smaller, plus keeping him in the cell did indeed prevent her from wondering where he was.

"But why are you saying this?" she asked him. "Surely you have another reason for wanting to discuss him besides complimenting me on a job well done." she leaned toward him, suspicious. "What exactly do you gain from this?"

"I have no ulterior motive, your majesty," he replied stoically.

"Why don't I believe you?"

The Dignitary made no comment on that which was a wise decision. She wouldn't have liked to hear the answer anyway.

"Answer me."

"Begging your pardon, your highness, but maybe you don't believe me because you're used to being lied to by many people so you believe that no one can tell you the honest truth without an ulterior motive," he responded in an even tone.

The queen was somewhat taken aback by his out right honesty and it took her a moment to recover before she could reply. "Hmmm... I see what you mean, thought you can't blame me." she folded her arms and leaned back onto the throne.

"No, your highness, I don't." he nodded. 'and the reason I'm saying this is... it prevents complications."

"Indeed." she folded her legs and gave him a long, hard look. "Is there anything else you wish to say?"

He shook his head.

"Then you are dismissed."

The dignitary nodded and slipped out of the room without another word.

The queen watched him leave then sighed, closing her eyes and looking up at the ceiling, allowing her mind to wander.

00000

Sometime during his planning jack noir had fallen last time he'd had a wonderful dream this time his mind was filled with horrible images. He flailed in his sleep while in his dreams he fled a horrible skull headed monster. It chased him through the darkness, screaming in a language he didn't understand. It chased him to a cliff edge where he stopped and stared down into bottomless darkness.

That voice grew louder and he looked over his shoulder, discovering the monster was drawing closer and seemed intent on killing him. He looked back into the pit realizing he was dead either way. Well he wasn't going to give that monster the satisfaction of killing him.

Taking a deep breath he jumped.

Jack Noir woke with a start, sitting rod straight on the cot and gasping for breath. The darkness surrounding him made him think he was still falling and he cried out in terror, reaching forward and falling face first onto the stone floor. Then he lay there, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light in the cell, his breathing slowing down to normal.

Just a nightmare.

Now that that was established he sat up and rubbed his head with his good hand, feeling a bump forming under his carapace. Great, broken limbs, bleeding stab wounds, and now a lumpy head. What else could go wrong?

"Don't ask that," he grumbled to himself. "You do that and the banshee might come back for another round of beast jack noir to a pulp."

Yeah no, that wasn't happening.

Jack looked toward the closed cell door, listening hard for the sound of any footsteps.

The dungeon was deathly quiet, the only sound was his own breathing.

For now he was safe, but who knew how long that would last? The queen might be on her way even now, only currently in another location in the palace.

He cursed, realizing that might just be what was happening. Well he couldn't hide form her and he doubted he could convince her to leave. This time he had to fight.

With that in mind he groped around until his hand fell on that metal rob. Gripping it in his hands he held it before him. I'm ready this time, you sick woman.

0000

Then queen eventually left the throne room and took a walk through the giant palace. She was tired of sitting idly and had to move. She exited the castle and stepped outside into the garden. Flowers of all types and colors grew in the open area, most of them clustered together in a rainbow of hues. The garden stood out from the rest of derse which was all in one color or purple.

The queen sighed, sitting down on a bench. She enjoyed spending time out there, it made her feel she was no longer a prisoner in her own palace. She just wished she could stay there forever.

The queen focused her attention on the Planet Skaia, which Derse and it's yellow counterpart Propsite orbited. Skaia was the battlefield of the two worlds where the kings and their soldier waged a seemingly never ending war.

Sometimes she wished the war would just end so she could spend more time with her husband, but that was a far away dream and she knew it. Why couldn't he just come home for more than a day? She missed him!

Obviously he didn't miss her as much as she did him. The queen sighed and looked at the rose bushes, so beautiful, yet so dangerous. Kind of like herself, she thought ironically.

With that in mind she stood and cross the cobblestones path over to the bush. She reached up when she stood before it and touched a red rose, feeling the soft velvety petals on her carapace. Well there was one difference, she wasn't soft.

For some reason this got her thinking about Jack and she started to wonder how he saw her. Did he think she was beautiful?

"What kind of question is that?" she asked herself. 'Why would he? he hates me!"

Plus there was the fact he'd tried to get rid of her and she'd had him thrown in the slammer, now was not the best time to wonder if a traitor to the crown thought the matriarch of Derse was attractive.

It was a dumb thought and she was being dumb for entertaining it. The queen went to yank the rose off the bush but her hand clomped on the vie and she cried out in pain when the thorns pierced her carapace. She pulled her hand away and stared at her palm, cherry red blood oozing from the thorn piercings. She made a fist, wincing at the pain. Shoot! Why did her serenity have to be ruined by thorns?!

Now she was in a bad mood again and stormed back into the castle.

0000

Jack Noir had decided to practice breaking the queen's head by taking a few practice swings on the ruined cot. Due to his right hand being managed he could only use his left hand which prevented him from doing as much damage as he'd intended. By the time he'd tried himself out the bed only had a few minor dents in the frame.

Completely unsatisfied he screamed an expletive and threw the pipe across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor. He stood still panting as he stared toward it, angered and frustrated.

How was he supposed to accomplish anything when he couldn't even break heads?! It was like a higher power was preventing him from winning.

Shoot!

Just then he heard footsteps coming down the hall and froze. The queen. she was coming back! He wasn't even ready for her! What in the Derse was he going to do if she came in there and started up with her stupid crap again?

Jack spotted the pipe across the room and threw himself to the floor, crawling toward it. he had to get his hands on it before she came in and beat his brains in.

But the footsteps passed right by his cell without even slowing. He relaxed once they were out of earshot but reached out for the pipe and grabbed it anyway. Better safe than sorry after all.

"and I don't want to be unprepared for any of her surprise visits."

Jack slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and looked down at his ankles, squinting in the dim light. They were still swollen and touching them only made them hurt worse than they already did. Not focusing on the problem helped the pain go away for awhile but if he let himself think about it it became unbearable.

But he couldn't keep his mind off of it forever, he just wished he could do something about it, make the pain go away. He wished he had some sort of drug to take to dull it. But maybe he could do something about it himself, if he could only get up...

Yeah...

With that in mind he placed his hand on the wall and forced himself to stand, wincing as his legs punished him for trying. He ignored it, determined not to let his agony prevent him from doing what he wanted.

"Just you wait, queeny, next time you come down here you won't be so lucky."

_I really don't know why I'm still writing this. _


	4. Chapter 4

5

Two weeks later

The queen had not returned to the cell to bother Jack Noir. He had spent the time working on healing and planning his next move.

The queen during that time had received a few letters from the king but he didn't give her any hints on when he'd return. It just made her feel even more alone and realize maybe the king didn't really want to come back to her or the city after all.

"But why not?" she asked herself as she crumpled up another letter. "Why doesn't he want to be with me?"

The queen looked out the window at the sky, at Skaia. Maybe she should go down to him if he wasn't going to come to her? Yeah, why not? It wasn't like she wouldn't be able to take care of herself if she did.

She was just as powerful as he was, especially since the players had entered the "game".

"I'm going." she stood up and head out of the throne room, taking a small detour to the throne room to get her ring. She hadn't wanted to use her ring since it had gotten upgrades from the players sprites but now she felt it was the right time to do so. She grabbed the ring from where she'd had it hidden and then turned and took off down the hall of the castle.

"Time for me to get involved."

But when she reached the door to leave the castle, her way was barred by two large burly guards. She glared at them. "Let me pass," she ordered.

"I'm sorry, your highness," one of the guards replied. "But the king requested that we not allow you to leave the palace."

"But I'm the queen!" she exclaimed, offended. "You can't keep me prisoner in my own palace!"

They shook their heads rather sadly. "I'm sorry," the guard said again. "Orders are orders."

"I have just as much authority as my husband!" she argued. "and I command you to step aside and let me pass!"

The two guards once again shook their heads. "I'm sorry."

"If you don't let me pass willingly, I'll make you." she took out the ring and was about to put it on her finger but one of the guards grabbed her hand before she could and pulled it away from her. "Release me!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry, your highness," the guard said relieving her of the ring.

"No, give that back!"

"Please, your majesty, just go back inside," the guard begged. It was apparent he didn't want to argue with her about it. "I don't want to hurt you to obey your husbands orders."

The queen wasn't ready to give up yet. She planted herself firmly in front of them and put out her hand. "I command you to return my ring and let me pass," she ordered with as much authority as she could muster.

The guards looked at each other without a word, as if they were trying to decide whether to obey the queen's order and risk getting in trouble with the king or obey the kings order and risk getting in trouble with the queen. Neither outcome was very appealing.

"Move!"

They didn't.

"I said move!"

Still they made no attempt to do so.

"Son't you understand English?" she snapped, looking ready to lunge at them and rip off their heads. "I want you to give me back my ring and get out of my way this minute!" A hand rested on her shoulder and she turned with a hiss, to find the Dignitary standing behind her. "What do you want?!" she demanded angrily.

"I think it's best you leave it alone for now," he said emotionless.

"I won't let it go! I want to leave."

"You can't." it was a blunt statement of the truth which only made her even more angry.

SLAP!

She struck him, her long fingernails cutting through his carapace and drawing blood. "Don't you order me around, you have no authority."

He looked at her with no reaction. "You can't leave," he said again. "It you leave it will end badly for you."

"Who are you to tell me how it will end?" she snapped. "You're nothing! Nothing but a pathetic little servant."

"If you believed that I wouldn't be here anymore."

The queen glared at him then back at the guards. Talking to him was getting her nowhere. "Give me my ring," she ordered again, putting out her hand. The Dignitary wasn't going to help her leave, that was apparent. If she could get her ring she could leave herself, whether those guards allowed her to or not.

"I'm sorry, your highness but we can't do that."

"Give me back my ring!" she screamed beginning to feel as if she was losing all of her power. "Put it in my hand or I will tear off your heads!"

Fortunately for everyone the dignitary stepped in then and gave the queen a good whack on the back of the head, apologizing as he did so. She was knocked out cold and fell into his arms, unconscious. The guards looked down at him worriedly. He'd just struck the queen!

"Don't worry about me," he told them as if reading their thoughts. "I'm sure his majesty will be understanding once he finds out why I did it."

The two guards still looked unsure. The slimmer dersite picked the matriarch up in his arms. "I'll take her back to her room." he said and put out his hand. "I would also like the ring. In the queen's current mental state she can't be trusted with it."

"Don't worry," he added when he saw the looks on their faces. "I will put it in a safe place."

The guard hesitated a moment longer then slowly placed the queen's ring in the Dignitary's hand. He thanked him and walked off, carrying the unconscious queen.

0000

Jack Noir woke up from another nightmare, returning to the world of darkness that was his cell. He was so used to it by now, that opening his eyes to it brought him comfort instead of rage. It was far better than the world inside his head which seemed to be only full of chaos.

Noir sat up and winced, his hand still giving him problems. He raised it up to his face and squinted in the low light, trying to get an idea on how well it was healing. Hopefully better than his ankles were.

He reached down and gingerly touched them. They still hurt but the swelling seemed to have gone down a bit. Good. Maybe soon he'd be able to walk again.

"Then I'll beat that wench's skull into pulp." he muttered to himself. "and I won't be a weak invalid anymore."

Just then he heard footsteps coming down the hall and looked toward the door with a sort of dread. Nobody had come to see him in the past two weeks so the sound was surprising. Whoever they were, were they going to pay him a visit this time or just walk on by?

He grabbed up the pipe from the floor and held it defensively, just in case. If anyone came in to take him away or attack him their brains would be splattered all over the cell's interior.

"Come and get me," he whispered. "I'm ready."

Well the footsteps did stop in front of his cell door which made him tense up. But the door didn't open. It remained closed as if whoever was in the hall was deciding whether they were going to grace him with their presence or move on.

Finally he heard a key being inserted into the lock and the door slowly slid open. Jack gripped the pipe, ready to spring into action but, before he could react, he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. Since he hadn't been exposed to light in weeks it hurt his eyes severely and he cried out, dropping the pipe to protect his eyes.

"Hitting me wouldn't have been a good idea anyway, Noir."

That voice was very familiar, in a different way from the queen's. He lowered his hand, squinting in the light. Before him stood the Draconian Dignitary.

He frowned at him. "About time you got down here."

"I apologize," the Dignitary responded, tossing a cigarette to the floor. "But I've been busy."

"You got that right, you traitor," he growled at him. "It's your fault I'm here to begin with."

"You can't blame me for this," the other Dersite told him, calmly. "This is your doing, not mine. You should have known better."

"Don't give me that reverse psychology," he snarled. "It's your fault all of this happened, you should have kept your big mouth shut and, don't think now you can let me free and think I'll be forgiving. "

The Dignitary shook his head as if his former superior had said something stupid. "I have no intention of releasing you." was his response.

"What?!"

He sighed, lighting another cigarette. "You said so yourself. I am a traitor, why would I want to release you when doing so would seal my own doom?"

"Because you work for me!"

"Not anymore."

Jack snarled, taken aback by his statement. "Then why did you come down here? To rub it in?"

He shrugged, taking a drag. "Not exactly, Jack. Just wanting to inform you that, due to your actions, I've been given your job and it's responsibilities."

Now Noir smirked. "Enjoying doing paperwork for the queen?" he sneered.

"I got it done pretty easily," he blew out a puff of smoke.

"Sure, just go ahead and brag out it."

The Dignitary locked eyes with him. "You're not getting out of here, Jack."

Now how did this guy know? "And what makes you say that?"

He finished the cigarette. "Because the queen is going to kill you."

Jack burst into laughter. "You're lying," he shot back. "The old hag told me she wasn't going to. She has too much fun torturing me."

"That was then," his consort replied. "Now I believe she thinks differently." he grabbed the doorknob. "If I were you I'd think of a way to either appease her or get out of this place before she comes down to finish you off." then he closed the door before Jack could give him a response.

00000

The Queen awakened to discover someone had taken her to her bedroom. She sat up, looking around herself. Who had carried her there?

The she remembered. "The Dignitary." she gritted her teeth and got out of bed, rushing to the door and opening it to find it being guarded. "Get out of my way!" she shouted at them really in no mood to have a repeat from earlier that day. "Or I'll rip your heads off!"

"I'm sorry your highness but orders are orders." There it was again, the same old excuse.

"Who gave you the order to keep me in my room?!"

No reply.

"Answer me!"

"Your highness."

She looked past the guards and saw the Draconian Dignitary standing in the hall, conveniently out of reach. "You!" she exclaimed, glaring out at him. "You're behind this outrage, aren't you?"

"It's for your own good," he told her calmly. "And it's only for a little while. they guards will let you out once you've calmed down."

"They shall let me out now!" the queen snarled. "Otherwise things will get very bad for you and them."

He walked over to the doorway and stood just out of hitting range. "My queen, forgive me for this, but I do believe it would be better if you waited a little while. Please calm down because this sort of behavior is below someone with your upbringing."

The queen looked like she was about to start screaming at him but she reigned herself in. Freaking out wasn't getting her anywhere. "Fine, I'll calm down," she said. "but I'm not doing it because you told me to."

"Of course not, your highness."

"Get out of my face!"

The Dignitary did so but the guards remained at her door. If she wanted them to leave she was going to have to do something about her temper, at least for a little while. Once she got out someone was going to be in real pain and she already knew who she was going to take it out on.


End file.
